Bench-sheet-storage platform



June 1,1926. 1,587,301

w. 1.. HANLEY, JR

BENCH SHEET STORAGE PLATFORM Filed June 9, 1925 l a'tented June l,

WILLIAM LEE I-IANLEY, $3., 01"! BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

BENCH-5HEETSTORAGE PLATFORM.

Application filed June 9, 1925.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawing which illustrates oneembodiment of the inven- 5 tion, selected by me for purposes of illustration, and the said invention is fully dis closed in' the followingdescription and claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a platform for the transfer oflarge quantit'ies of brick or other ceramic ware, and especially brick,from one point to another by means of a suitable crane or othertraveling hoist. Heretofore these platforms have usually beenconstructed of three separate plates, a horizontal bottom plate and twovertical end plates, fastened together at the two corners of the device,the verti cal end plates being provided with an e traneous devicesecured thereto, for engaging a suitable crane hook or lifting chains.

In practice it has been found that this general type of construction isunsatisfactory. These platforms carry an enormous load, approximately4,000 pounds, the weight of which is applied directly to the horizontalor bottom plate and transmitted to the vertical end plates and to thelifting devices connected therewith, and it has been found in practicethat platforms made in this manner are constantly breaking and yieldingatthecorners, in some instances shearing or breaking the connectingbolts or rivets and in some instances shearing or breaking the bolts orrivets connecting the elevating devices or handles to the verticalplates, so that the platforms constructed in the old manner have beenfound to be very insecure. As they are intended to convey their lead ofbricks or other articles through the air, frequently over apparatus andworkmen, the failure of these devices isvery apt to be accompanied byserious loss and in some instances, physical injury. His

struction of these platforms all danger of their breakingor becomingseparated or detached from the elevating and conveying hoist or crane,must be eliminated.

.According to my invention, 1 form the main body of the platform of asingle sheet of wrought iron or steel, of suitable thickness, thecentral portion of the sheet constituting the horizontal portion of theplat form, and the end portions of the sheet being bent perpendicularlythereto and formtherefore highly important that in the con-- Serial No.35,881.

ing integral end plates. lthe word integral as used in thisspecification and in the following claims is used in the limited senseas meaning, in fact, that the parts so referred to are laterally formedfrom one continuous and unitary piece of material. I prefer to reinforcethis integral structure by means of horizontal and vertical. bracesconnected together and also united by welding or otherwise, to thehorizontal and vertical portions respectively, of the said integralsheet, where such reinforcements are found to be necessary anddesirable, and I also prefer to provide the vertical end members withhook engaging apertures formed by cutting away portions of the said me.nbers to, form apertures to receive the crane hooks or other liftingmechanism, so that there is no extraneous or separately formed handle orother lifting means con nected with said platform, upon the connectingbolts or'rivets of which the safety of the load depends.

It is particularly convenient to employ these platforms for the transferof bricks from the sorting table of a brick kiln to shipping and storingpoints, and as it is frequently desirable to shift these platforms onthe sorting table, I conveniently provide the horizontal plate portionor member, with braces having horizontally disposed flanges at theirlower edges or sides, to engage supporting rollers provided on thebench, or other stationary support. This is preferable to providing theplat form itself with wheels or rollers which would add to the weight ofthe same and in all probability weaken its structure.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of one of my improved bench sheet storageplatforms, embodying the-preferred formof my invention, and illustratingin connection therewith a stationary platform with supporting rollersand one form of lifting mechanism which I conveniently employ inconnection therewith.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the platform and supporting bench.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same, the supporting bench beingillustrated in sections.

Referring to the form of my invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, 1 represents a single unitary integral sheet of wrought iron orsteel, of the proper thickness, as for example, three-sixteenths of aninch, the central portion thereof forming the horizontal supportingmember, 2, and the end portions forming the vertically disposed endmembers, 3 and 4:, connected to the horizontal member at the angularbends indicated at 5 and 6. The bottom member. 2, is preferablyreinforced by a plurality of longitudinally disposed channel bars,indicated at 7-7, two being shown, which are preterably connected to thebottom member, 2, by welding one flange, as 7 of each channel barthereto, preferably by the use of an electric welding machine or spotwelder. The other flange, 7', of the channel bar will form a horizontalroller engaging surface below the platform, as indicated in the drawing,to engage rollers, 20, for example, supported in the frame of a platformindicated at 21, and forming a part of the sorting bench, for example,or other supporting device. 'llhe rollers, 20, may be formed separately,as 1n dicated in the drawing, and mounted on a shaft, 22, each rollerbeing provided with a flange, 23, to prevent the platform running offlaterally, or the rollers, 20-20, may be formed as a single rollerextending entirely across between the supporting portions, 21, of theframe, as may be found most desirable.

The vertical members, 3 and 4:, of the platform, are preferablyreinforced by structural iron pieces, and for this purpose I prefer touse angle bars, as indicated at 8-t, one flange, 8, of each angle barbeing secured to the vertical member, preferably by welding, and theother flange extending sub stantially at right angles thereto, The endportions of the channel bars, '7, project slightly beyond the ends ofthe bottom member, 2, as indicated at 7, and the angle bars, 8, are sodisposed with respect to the channel bars, as to permit the lower endsof the angle bars to be connected to the projecting ends of the channelbars, by welding or by means of bolts or rivets. In the present instancel have shown gusset plates indicated at 99, interposed between theprojecting face of each angle bar and a vertical face of the projectingportion, 7, of the adjacent channel bar, and secured to both bars byrivets indicated at 10, and I have found that this is a verysatisfactory construction. i prefer to make the projecting portions, 7,of the channel bars, long enough to receive a plurality of rivetsconnecting them to the adjacent gusset plate and the lower end of theangle bar, preferably carried down far enough below the upper edge ofthe channel bar so that I may employ a plurality of rivets passingthrough the gusset plate and the angle bar, at least one of said rivetsextending through the channel bar, gusset plate and angle bar, and thusnot only uniting them firmly, but also bracing them against any tendencyon the part of the upper end portions of the vertical members, 3 and l,to spread.

The vertical members, 23 and l, are preferably provided adjacent to theupper ends, with lifting apertures indicated at ll, formed by pui'ichingor cutting portions of the metal plate, 1, away, and in order to insurea complete distribution of the strain to all portions of the verticalmembers, 3 and l, I. prefer to reinforce the upper edge thereof. bywelding along the upper edge of each of said vertic 1 members, and -l-,on the inner face thereof, a horizontal reii'iforcing bar, 12, locatedabove the slot or aperture, ll. the crane hook, and securely welded theThe said bar, 12, may extend the entire width of the member, 3 or ii,along the upper edge thereof, or it may be of less than its entirewidth, as preferred.

My improved platform is preferably handled by means of the liftingdevice illustrated in Fig. l, which. comprises a horizontal bar, 30,provided centrally with a lifting hook or eye, 31, and at each of itsends a lifting hook, 232, pivoted at 33, to the rod, Ill), and providedwith a hook )ortion, 3- adapted to enter the slots or lifting apertures,ll, of the vertical members, 8 and a, by slig rtly swinging the hooksoutwardly, and said hooks are preferably provided with inclinedsurfaces, 35, to engage the upper edges of the vertical members, 3 andl, to facilitate the engagement of the hooks with the slots or liftingapertures, 11. A convenient manner of using these platforms is tosupport a plurality of the same on the sorting bench of a brick kiln,for example, to which the fired bricks are brought after they leave thekiln, and the bricks are then sorted, those of a single grade beingpiled neatly in a single platform until the same is loaded. A suitableform of traveling hoist, as a crane or monorail, is convenientlyemployed for elevating and transporting the loaded and empty platforms,and is provided with the lifting device illustrated in Fig. l, to engagethe platforms and carry the bricks to a point where they are to beunloaded therefrom, for shipment or storage. lVhile this is a convenientmanner of using the platforms, it is to be understood that they may beused for other articles than brick and in other ways and for otherpurposes than those herein indicated, and for any purpose for whichtheir use may be found to be advantageous within the spirit of myinvention.

It will be seen that when this bench sheet storage platform is loadedand is lifted from the supporting bench by a suitable hoisting andtransporting mechanism, the weight of the load will be uniformlydistributed over every portion of the bottom or horizontal member, 2,and will be transmitted uniformly to all portions of the vertical endmembers, 3 and 4, so that there is no tendency whatever, and practicallyno possibility of the separation of the horizontal bottom member and thevertical end members, as such separation would involve the absolutetearing apart or splitting apart of the material of the integral sheet,1, which forms the bottom and end members. The structural iron work tofit the horizontal channel bars and vertical angle bars, stillens thehorizontal bottom member and vertical end members and prevents them frombecoming bent, and adds to the strength of the entire structure. It isto be noted that there are no bolt holes extending through the platemember at any point in my preferred construction, and as the'liftinghooks engage apertures in the vertical end members, 3, i, of theintegral sheet, 1, from which all three members are formed, there ispractically no danger of the load being dropped or spilled in hoistingand transporting these loaded platforms.

I prefer to employ the form of lifting device indicated in Fig. 1, orits equivalent, in which the hooks are suspended pivotally andvertically from a horizontal lifting bar to which the crane or otherhoisting means is connected, so that the lifting action on the platformis perfectly vertical and there is no tendency to draw the upper ends ofthe vertical end members, 3 and 4, toward each other in lifting andtransporting a load.

hat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the kind described, comprising a unitary wrought metalplate, having the central portion disposed horizon tally to form thebottom member, integral end portions of the same plate being bentperpendicularly to the plane of the bottom member, to form integral,rigidly maintained end members, said end members being provided withmeans for engaging lifting means, whereby the entire weight of the loadis distributed to and upon the various portions of the same integralplate.

2. A device of the kind described, comprising a unitary wrought metalplate, having the central portion disposed horizontally to form thebottom member, integral end portions of the same plate being bentperpendicularly to the plane of the bottom member, to form integral,rigidly maintained end members, said end. members being provided withlifting apertures to engage lifting means and with transversereinforcing bars located above said apertures and united to the endmembers to distribute the strain of the load from the lifting hookslaterally of said end members, and assist in distributing the entireweight of the load to and upon the various portions of the said integralplate.

3. A device of the kind described, comprising a unitary wrought metalplate having the central portion disposed horizontally to form thebottom member, integral end portions of the same plate being bentperpendicularly to the plane of the bottom member to form integral,rigidly maintained end members, and reinforcing and stiffening devicesengaging the exterior faces of the bottom and end members forreinforcing the device and holding the end members perpendicular to thebottom without obstructing the space between said end members.

4. A device of the kind described, comprising a single integral plate ofsheet metal, the central portion of which forms a horizontal bottom orsupporting member, the end portions of said plate being bentsubstantially perpendicularly to the bottom member and formingvertically disposed end members, said bottom member being providedeXteriorly with longitudinally disposed stiffening bars secured thereto,and said end members being provided with stiffening bars secured theretoand to the stiifening bars of the bottom member.

5. A device of the kind described, comprising a unitary integral plateof sheet metal, the central portion of said plate forming ahorizontalbottom or supporting member, the end portions of said plate being bentsubstantially perpendicularly to said bottom member and provided withmeans for detachably engaging a lifting mechanism, brace bars extendinglongitudinally along the bottom of said bottom member and weldedthereto, stiffening bars eXtend- 7. A device of the kind described,comprising a unitary integral plate having its central portion forming ahorizontal bottom member and its end portions bent substantiallyperpendicularly to the bottom member and forming vertically disposed endmembers. horizontal stiffening bars secured to said bottom member belowthe same and having their lower edges provided with roller engaginfaces, said stiffening bars having portions projecting beyond the endsof the horizontal bottom member, and vertical stiff ening memberssecured to each of said end portions, and having the lower ends securedto the projecting portions of said horizontal stifi'en'ing bars.

8. A device of the kind described, comprising a unitary integral platehaving its central portion forming a horizontal bottom member and itsend portions bent substantially perpendicularly to the bottom me1nberand torn'iing vertically disposed end members, horizontal stiffeningbars secured to said bottom member below the same and having projectingportions at each end of said bottom member, vertically disposedstitlening bars secured to each of said end members and extendingdownward past the projecting ends of the horizontal stiffening bars,gusset plates interposed between the overlapping portions of saidhorizontal and vertical stifiening bars, and united to both of saidbars.

9. A device of the kind described, comprising a unitary integral platehaving its central portion forming a horizontal bottom member and itsend portions bent substantially perpendicularly to the bottom member andforming vertically disposed end members, horizontal stiffening barssecured to said bottom member below the same and having projectingportions at each end of said bottom member, vertically disposed stiilening bars secured to each of said end members and extending downwardpast the projecting ends of the horizontal stiffening bars gusset platesinterposed between the overlapping portions of said horizontal andvertical stiffening bars, each of said gusset plates being connected tothe adjacent vertical stiffening bar and horizontal stiffening bar byrivets, and certain of said rivets passing through the said stiileningbars and gusset plate.

10. A device of the kind described, CODI- prising a unitary integralplate having its central portion forming a horizontal bottom member, itsend portions bent substantially perpendicularly to the bottom member andforming vertically disposed end members, horizontal stiffening barshaving horizontal flanges engaging the exterior of said bottom member,and welded thereto, said stiil'ening bars having portions projecting ateach end of the bottom membeix vertically disposed stiii'ening barshaving flanges engaging the exterior of each of said vertical endmembers and welded thereto said vertical sti'liening bars havingprojecting portions at their lower ends overla iiping adjacentprojecting portions ot said horizontal stiffening bars, gusset platestransposed between the adjacent ends of the horizontal and verticalstiflening bars and united to both of the same, said end members beingprovided each with an aperture formed therein adjacent to its upper edgeto receive detachably a lifting device.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

WlLLl'Alil LEE HANLEY, J a.

